John McAfee arrested in Spain for tax evasion and promotion of ICOs

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The well-known cybersecurity entrepreneur and one of crypto’s most interesting personalities, Mr John McAfee, was arrested in Spain over charges of tax evasion. He is being presented by the Securities and Exchange Commission with several charges, most notably for touting several crypto coins during the 2017-2018 ICO bull run.

John McAfee Indicted for Tax Evasion - Allegedly Hid Cryptocurrency, a Yacht, Real Estate and Other Properties in Nominee Names to Evade Taxeshttps://t.co/6hcFNmLhBW

— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) October 5, 2020

According to the complaint, John McAfee received payment of more than $23.1 million in various crypto coins for promoting a number of these during Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). As he was touting the coins, he failed to disclose that he was being paid to promote them.

Predictions about BTC price

The official filing makes for a very interesting read for those in the community as the SEC was quite explicit in it’s complaint against the millionaire, stating:

McAfee’s extravagant posts (such as tweeting predictions about BTC price increases and promising to ‘eat my d**k on national television’ if such predictions did not pan out) … generated an enormous amount of publicity.

John McAfee Arrested In Spain And Charged With Tax Evasion And Promoting Initial Coin Offerings https://t.co/J89IUKEecR

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 5, 2020

McAfee allegedly used his social media accounts to generate interest for the cryptocoins. In any case, he clearly knew which coins to keep as the document specifies that he was:

Paid bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) worth more than $11.6 million, plus an additional $11.5 million worth of promoted tokens, as undisclosed compensation for his promotions of seven ICOs.

Should the charges result in a conviction,the now 75-year-old entrepreneur would be presented with a 30 year prison term.